Vehicles such as automobiles provide a means of transportation for people (e.g., the driver and passenger(s)) and to move cargo. Vehicles intended for human transportation (passenger vehicles) typically include seats in which passengers can sit. The position of passenger seats can typically be adjusted to some extent. For example, seats typically can be translated forward and backward, and the inclination of the seat back can be varied. Passenger vehicles may include some amount of space in which cargo items can be placed for transportation (e.g., a back seat or trunk). Vehicles intended for moving a significant amount of cargo commonly include a dedicated, relatively unobstructed cargo area, such as a trailer, truck bed, or the like, that is separate from the space intended for operators/passengers (e.g., the cabin of a truck).
There is also a significant amount of research and development being devoted to the area of self-driving or self-navigating vehicles. Similar to traditional vehicles, self-driving vehicles may be designed to accommodate both people and other cargo items.
Although many vehicles provide the ability to transport passengers and cargo, the configuration of such vehicles is generally not optimal for transporting both. For example, seats for passengers (as well as other passenger accommodations such as arm rests, cupholders, etc.) occupy space in the vehicle that cannot be used for transporting other items. Furthermore, existing vehicles cannot be efficiently reconfigured or adapted to be better suited for one purpose or the other based on current need. The extent to which the position and configuration of seats in passenger vehicles can be adjusted is typically limited. This makes it difficult and time-consuming to reconfigure a vehicle that is designed primarily to transport passengers such that it is optimized for transporting cargo. Furthermore, to the extent that existing vehicles can be reconfigured, it is difficult to determine the optimal configuration of the vehicle and layout of the cargo to be transported, which both depend on the characteristics (e.g., size, shape, mass, value, compressibility) of the cargo one wishes to transport.